The Putnam County baseball team recently had seven players earn All-Region 4-AA honors.
The War Eagles selected to the All-Region 4-AA First and Second teams were Jacob Grimes, Ashton Jones, Jackson Dodd, Westley Essick, Mark Winslette, Tanner Lukens and Branan Griffin.
Grimes, a senior for Putnam County in 2023, was named the GHSA Region 4-AA Offensive Player of the Year. He tied with Jones for the highest batting average on the team with a .412 percentage. Grimes also had an on-base percentage (OBP) of .574 and a slugging percentage of .588.
The 5-foot-11 and 170-pound infielder, according to MaxPreps, totaled 28 hits during his senior year, with 19 of them being singles. He also totaled six doubles and a team-high three triples in 2023.
Jones, another senior for Putnam County, was selected to the All-Region 4-AA First Team as a pitcher.
Dodd also made the All-Region First Team as a second baseman for the War Eagles.
Jones was one of the War Eagles’ aces on the mound with a team second-best 43 strikeouts. The 5-foot-8 and 140-pound left-handed pitcher, according to his Twitter, also posted a 6.3 earned run average (ERA). Jones also had a team’s best 1.905 walks and hits per inning (WHIP) average as a senior.
Dodd was one of the team’s best infielders on the defensive side of the ball at second base. He also batted .411 for the War Eagles, their second-best, with 23 hits during his freshman campaign in 2023.
Putnam County also had four All-Region 4-AA Second Team selections in Essick (shortstop), Winslette (catcher), Lukens (first base) and Griffin (outfielder), which rounded out its postseason honors.
The War Eagles went 13-14 overall this season but qualified for the Class AA state playoffs as a No. 3 seed. However, they were knocked out by No. 2 seed Brantley County (22-14) in the first round.
Putnam County’s varsity 2023 roster was young this season, with a lot of freshmen having to step up. Dodd, Griffin, Wyatt Sims, Wade Johnston and Gates Lanzarone all played a lot as rookies.
The War Eagles graduated four seniors in Grimes, Essick, Dakota Jones and Ashton Jones in May. So, they’ll hope to return a lot of talent in 2024 with hopes of advancing further in the state playoffs.